Merry Christmas
by inmyeyes
Summary: RT: Tristan & Rory meet again at Christmas. (One-shot)


A.N : This is just Trory fluff. Happy yet pointless. Enjoy :D   
  
  
  


**Merry Christmas**   
by inmyeyes 

  
  
  


"Rory!" 

The loud cry brought a bright smile from her face as she spotted her mother running towards her, arms spread open. Moments later, she was surrounded by loving arms. God, she had missed this. 

"Hi Mom," she said softly, tightening her arms around her mother's back. 

Finally, Lorelai finally pulled away and Rory wasn't surprised to see tear streaks on her mother's cheek. "I missed you, kid." 

"I missed you too." 

Grabbing one of Rory's bags, Lorelai put her other arm around her daughter's waist and gently steered her into the house. "How's school?" 

At the question, Rory groaned and leaned her head against Lorelai's shoulder. "Hell." 

Lorelai grinned. "Worse than Chilton?" 

Rory shot her mom an incredulous look. "Mom, we're talking about Harvard here. Of course it's worse than Chilton! Chilton was like the waiting room, where they simulate hell-ish conditions so that once you get to the real thing, you'll be prepared." 

"Sorry I asked. Onto a better question... how's the coffee?" 

Rory responded with another groan. "Nothing beats Luke's." 

Lorelai squealed happily. "Great... we'll have to stop by later. And we can terrorize him!" The sentence was punctuated with Lorelai's evil laughter. Rory couldn't help but laugh along. 

It was good to be back. 

* * * * * 

"Hello son," came the gruff, impersonal greeting. 

Tristan looked up from his peas and sat up straighter in his chair. "Hello father." 

"Tristan, sweetie," his mother cooed, placing a light kiss on his head. "It's nice to have you back." 

Tristan's eyes softened slightly as he smiled. "Hi Mom... it's good to be back." His voice never faltered as the lie flowed out. It was anything but good to be back in Hartford. It was as horrible, as empty as it had been before. Nothing had changed there. 

His house was still the same empty building, full of ostentatious things but lacking in warmth and love. His father was still the same man, concerned only with making more money and upholding the DuGrey name. His mother was still the same flighty, dainty woman who sometimes remembered that she had a son. And he... 

He had changed. 

He had changed a long time ago, the moment he had set foot in that military school. That irrevocable step changed him, for better. It wizened him up, taught him that there was more to life than money and riches. He became independent, less cocky, more considerate and more giving. His time there made him despise everything about his life in Hartford. It became clear to him why Rory Gilmore wouldn't give him the time of day. 

Out of everything that he had left behind, the one thing he missed most was her. He thought of her often in the darkness of his room, the moments when he felt most alone and most vulnerable. He sometimes wished that he had a picture of her, but at the same time, he knew that he wouldn't need one because her face was permanently etched in his mind. As time went by, he thought of her less and less until she became merely a happy memory, almost like someone he had dreamt up to keep him company. 

"How's Yale?" 

His father's question stirred his thoughts and he looked up and met cold, dispassionate steel blue eyes. "I'm doing well." 

"Good, good." 

His eyes went back to the peas. This was going to be a long dinner. 

* * * * * 

It was already well after noon, but Rory still lay sprawled on her bed. It was wonderful to be able to wake up late and not have anything to worry about. No rushing for early classes, no waking up at the crack of dawn to get some last minute studying in, no discomfort from sleeping in weird places. 'This is great,' Rory thought as she stretched slowly. Letting out a contented sigh, she slowly got out of bed but had to catch herself as she nearly tripped on a pile of books on the floor. 

As she lightly massaged her stubbed toe, her eyes caught the cover of the book that caused the mishap. Her brow furrowed slightly as she lowered herself to the floor and grabbed the book. Leaning against the side of her bed, she flipped the pages and came across a familiar face. 

Tristan DuGrey. 

Idly, her fingers traced the image of his handsome face as she wondered what had become of him. Life at Chilton became dreary and dull without him there and after a long bout of self-denial, she finally admitted to herself that she missed him. She missed his laughter. his smiles, his smart-ass comments and just knowing that he was there. It had been years since she last saw him, but she could clearly remember those last precious moments with him in the Chilton hallway. At times, she silently berated herself for not just taking a chance and kissing him. Other times, she thought that they were both better off without that last kiss.... because she knew that kissing him would have opened a floodgate of emotions that she couldn't and wouldn't have been able to deal with. 

"What are you looking at?" 

Rory jumped at the sound of Lorelai's chirpy voice in her ear. "Just the Chilton yearbook." 

"Who's that?" Lorelai asked, pointing to the blond-haired, blue-eyed boy on the page. 

Rory's eyes roamed his familiar features. "Tristan DuGrey," she said, a wistful note in her voice. 

Lorelai snatched the book from her daughter's hands and shrieked lightly. "_That's _Tristan DuGrey?" When Rory nodded, she went on. "Let me see if I remember correctly... Tristan DuGrey is Evil Tristan. Bible Boy. Romeo. The one who got sent off to military school." 

"He's the one." 

"Damn he's hot!" Lorelai commented, fanning herself with her hand. 

"Mom!" 

"What? I'm just stating the obvious." A sly grin crossed her face. "Wonder how he looks like now..." 

Rory fiddled with the hem of her pajama top as she silently sighed. "Yeah, I wonder." 

* * * * * 

'Why are you thinking about him?' she silently chided herself. 

Rory turned on her side and put a pillow over her head. But her actions did nothing to stop her mind from working over-time. 

"Damnit," she muttered under her breath as she threw the covers off her and sat up, leaning against her headboard. She raked her fingers through her long hair and let out a frustrated sigh. With a loud thud, her feet found the floor and her hands reached out to grab the book that was lying on her dresser. She made herself comfortable at the foot of her bed and turned the pages until she found what she was looking for. 

"Why are you haunting me?" she asked aloud. 

She wouldn't acknowledge the answer that her heart was giving her. 

* * * * * 

"Do we really have to go?" Lorelai whined. 

Rory didn't take her eyes off her reflection as she tried to stick one last bobby pin in her hair. "Yes, we have to. It's a Gilmore Christmas party we have to be there." 

"It's gonna be a _boring_ Gilmore Christmas party," Lorelai corrected. "Boring, stuffy, rich people and weird-looking food with weird-sounding names. Plus, no coffee!" 

"Come on, Mom... it's Christmas. Be nice." 

"I'm _always_ nice," Lorelai pouted. "Besides, we were just there two nights ago." 

"_Mom._" 

Lorelai caught the warning in her daughter's tone and stuck her tongue out. "Fine, fine. We'll go. Something good might happen since it's snowing." She rubbed her hands together in glee. 

"No evil thoughts," Rory warned, as they made her way out of the house. 

"Party pooper," Lorelai muttered. 

* * * * * 

As the door to the large house swung open, Tristan put a smile on his face as he heard his parents wish whoever it was a merry Christmas. He was only half-listening to their conversation as they were let into the house. There was something vaguely familiar about the house, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember. That was until he heard someone say "Gilmore". Then he was all ears. 

He heard his mother speak. "Emily, this is Tristan. He's at Yale." She then turned to him. "Tristan dear, this is Mrs. Gilmore." 

He tried to keep his surprise at bay as he smiled. "I believe we've met before. At Rory's birthday party." He saw the way the woman beamed when he mentioned Rory's name. 

"Ah, yes. You know Rory? She's around here, somewhere." 

At that, Tristan's mind went blank and he felt his heart start to race with anticipation. _Rory was here?_ That was almost too much for him to bear. His eyes roamed the crowded room as he tried to spot her. When he finally did, his breath caught in his throat as his senses went into overload. _She was there. _She looked as beautiful as ever. He had to remind himself to breath. 

There was a long bout of silent internal battle as he wondered if he should speak to her or not. Finally, after a silent pep talk, he excused himself and made his way to her, like a predator stalking its quarry. 

* * * * * 

She was bored out of her mind. She heaved a small sigh as she fiddled with the stem of her glass. She had found an empty corner in the room and promptly sat herself down, praying that no one would come over and engage her in meaningless small talk. She hated that. Her mother was right; it was an extremely boring Christmas party. Lorelai had ditched her moments ago, claiming that she was on the search for coffee. 

"Hi Mary." 

Startled, her head snapped up at the familiar nickname and the familiar voice saying it. Her eyes caught sky blue eyes, tousled blond hair and a charming smile. 

_Tristan DuGrey_. 

She jumped up, and before she could even think, her arms were around him, hugging him tightly to her. "Oh my God, Tristan!" she mumbled, her face nuzzled against his neck, she breathing in his cologne. She felt strong arms wrap around her waist in return and she felt rather than heard the chuckle that left his lips. 

To say that Rory surprised him would be the understatement of the year. On the short trek to where she was, he had imagined various scenarios but none came close to her actual reaction. The feeling of having her in his arms was making him light-headed. He leaned down slightly, "I missed you too, Rory." 

Slowly, Rory pulled away from him but she was immensely aware of the fact that he still had an arm wrapped around her waist. Her eyes drank in the sight of him, as though he was an oasis in the Saharan Desert. She reached out to lightly touch his cheek. "What are you doing here?" 

Reluctantly, he withdrew his arm. He couldn't help the smirk that had overtaken his face. "I was invited." 

"Oh shucks! And here I thought that you had snuck in through the kitchen just to see me," Rory said, a hand of her forehead in mock-woe. 

"Well, I did forge the invitation," Tristan offered, grinning widely. - 

"How have you been?" 

Tristan shrugged. "Good." 

Rory arched her brow when he didn't offer more. Before she could question him, Lorelai was next to her with a triumphant smile, holding a cup of coffee tightly. "Hah, I managed to sneakily make a cup of coffee!" She had noticed the young man who was talking with her daughter but chose not to say anything yet. Instead, she grinned deviously at the pair. "In case you didn't notice..." she pointed to the ceiling. 

Rory's eyes widened when she noticed a sprig of mistletoe hanging directly above Tristan and her. She sucked in a breath, her heart hammering crazily at the thought of kissing Tristan. Unbidden, the movie reel in her mind of their first kiss chose that moment to run and she was assaulted with the memories of that moment. Her eyes slammed into Tristan's blue eyes and unconsciously, her tongue darted out to lick her lips. 

Tristan almost groaned aloud when he noticed Rory licking her lips. He stood frozen as Rory closed the distance between them and lightly rested her hand on his chest. Even through the material of his shirt and jacket, her touch seared his skin. In what seemed to him like slow motion, Rory leaned up and brushed her lips lightly on his and the contact sent tingles all the way down his spine. He curbed the urge to pull her close to him and continue the kiss but instead let her pull away. 

And when Tristan licked his lips to savour the taste of her, it was Rory who wanted to throw him against a wall and ravish him. 'Damn, he's dangerous,' she thought, shaking her head slightly. 

She was brought back to reality by her mother's voice. "I'm Lorelai Gilmore. You must be Tristan." 

"Yes, ma'am." 

Lorelai snorted. "None of that ma'am stuff. It's just Lorelai." 

"Okay... Lorelai. How did you know-" 

Lorelai just grinned. "Oh... we were just looking at the Chilton yearbook the other day. We came to the conclusion that you're hot." Rory's mouth dropped open at Lorelai's words. 

"I did not-" 

Tristan smirked at Rory. "So, you think I'm hot?" 

"It was a good photograph," Rory shrugged. 

He leaned closer to her and let out a leer. "I always knew you wanted me." 

"Damn, you found my secret. I've been pining away for you for so long and I died when you left," Rory countered, sarcasm lacing her words. 

Tristan laughed. "Well, at least now you've admitted it." 

"Kids, kids.... no more fighting. Here, have some coffee," Lorelai offered. 

Rory and Tristan looked at each other and smiled crazily. 

* * * * * 

Tristan tore his eyes away from Rory when he noticed his mother coming towards him. He snuck a glance at his watch. Almost midnight. Disappointed, he knew that he had to leave. He reached over and clasped Rory's hand, causing her to stop her little tirade about her messy room-mate at Harvard. They had spent most of the night together, just talking and catching up on what had happened in each others' lives. 

Things were the same yet different between them. There was still that underlying tension between them, something that Tristan attributed to his attraction to her. There were still moments of bantering, but it was now more teasing and friendly than anything else. Yet for the first time, they had really talked, managing to put aside past differences and problems and Tristan found himself enchanted by this girl like no other. The animation on her face as she talked, her little smiles, the way she sometimes gestured wildly to make her point, her stubbornness, the way her eyes lit up... he noticed everything. 

And in those few hours, all the reasons as to why he had liked her, maybe even fallen in love with her, came rushing back and his attraction for her increased tenfold. He was in dangerous territory. 

Maybe it was better that he had to leave now. It would be easier to forget her. He'd never see her again... and he could slowly erase the memories of tonight. Sure, it would a while... a long while, but he could do it. 

"I have to go," he said, gesturing to his mother who was waiting for him a few feet away. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he got up and took his hand from where it had lain on hers. "It was great seeing you again." He didn't know what else to say. He leaned down, kissing her lightly on her cheek and walked away. 

"Who was that girl?" 

Without turning to his mother, he answered her. "Just someone I knew from Chilton." 

* * * * * 

Rory watched his departing figure, grappling with the sense of loss that overtook her. 

Tristan was.... _different_. Oh, in many ways he was still the same exasperating, cocky boy she knew but now, there was much more of him that he allowed her to see. And... she liked what she saw. Very much. 

Her hand came up to the spot where his lips had touched her cheek and again, she wished that he had kissed her. Throughout the night, whenever he was speaking, she found herself unable to keep his gaze off his lips and imagining those same lips on hers. 

Out of nowhere, a tiny voice at the back of her mind told her what she had known all along. 

She was attracted to him. She liked him. A lot. She could even maybe fall in love with him. 

Suddenly, a sense of urgency came over her. She jumped up and ran out of the room. 

* * * * * 

"Tristan!" 

He stopped, telling his parents to give him a few minutes and he walked to where Rory was standing, her arms around herself to protect from the cold. 

"I forgot something," she said breathlessly when he was standing in front of her. Before he could say anything, she had snaked her arms around his neck, bringing his head down and locking her lips with his. Tristan let out a soft gasp as the unexpectedness of the kiss, but his reaction was immediate. His arm came to rest on her hip, pulling her closer within his embrace as his free hand delved into her mass of brown hair. 

After a few glorious moments, he finally pulled away, his breath coming in short gasps as he tried to collect his senses. 

Rory leaned her forehead on his, her hands playing with his blonde locks. "I forgot to wish you a Merry Christmas," she said impishly with a wide grin. 

Tristan merely chuckled, kissing her lips lightly. 

It would definitely be a merry Christmas. 

* * * * * 


End file.
